Takanori Gomi had some provocative things to say about two prominent UFC figures in his latest interview, saying he found Dana White hard to deal with and that he thinks he is the only lightweight capable of beating BJ Penn.

In an interview with Japanese website Tsutaya to promote his fight at Vale Tudo Japan on Friday night, he said, “I don’t want to talk about the UFC. Mr Dana White is a great manager and I respect him but as a person he is hard to deal with. I’m not a martial arts beginner, I am an MMA champion. What about him? What would he be?”

However, he did admit that he would like to fight in the US before drawing the curtain on his career, and said he wants a rematch with UFC lightweight champion BJ Penn.

“I want to fight BJ Penn again. He knows I’m the only guy of this division able to knock him out. It would be the biggest champions fighting. Imagine how this match would be... but it’s not close to coming true,” he said.

Vale Tudo Japan (VTJ 09) takes place at JCB Hall, in Tókio, Japan, on October 30th and pits local hero Gomi against American Tony Hervey.

“It’s something that will be nothing different than what I’ve faced through my career. He’s a young fighter who has the chance of fighting a champion like me. I’m ready for the fight. He will learn a lot of things and will grow as a combatant” says Gomi.

“It’s something that will be nothing different than what I’ve faced through my career. He’s a young fighter who has the chance of fighting a champion like me. I’m ready for the fight. He will learn a lot of things and will grow as a combatant” says Gomi.

no he's smart for not signing with UFC. he's basically a celebrity in japan. he'll always have a career kicking cans no matter how fat and lazy he gets. no one in the US knows who he is and he would get smashed by the top dogs in his division.